Views from the Road

In discussing travel with fellow wanderers, someone said to us “You’re either a lake person or an ocean person.” We don’t exactly agree but get the meaning. There are types of people who find pleasure in seeing rolling fields, or mountains, or oceans, or lakes, or other above any other. We aren’t tied to one over another, although admit that seeing 200 miles of farmland and nothing else can get boring (because we aren’t farm people). There are people who feel that “views” only equate to one type of view (ocean people seem to think that ocean views are the only thing worth seeing, for example).

Happy to see the snow but not be in it.

When trying to figure out our route from California to Oregon, we asked people which route to take and almost 100% said to take Route 101 due to the views (versus I-5) despite all the road closures that were going on. While we are positive that Route 101 is lovely, it is extremely tight for a 45 Class A plus tow vehicle. In addition, it turns out that there were portions of 101 that were completely closed due to mudslides and some weight restrictions on vehicles (over 9000 pounds, of which we are very much over). We’re very much into views, mind you, but “mudslide views” is something we’d like to avoid as well as “detour into a small town” views because our rig is too heavy. Some tried to state how the route was beautiful but admitted they hadn’t been on it in a few years (well before the rains that hit the west coast) and how they had a 24′ travel trailer. This is a bit different than a 45′ class A plus tow. Others stated that professional truckers do the route all the time so it must be fine. Dare we emphasize the word professional?

I-5 has a boring view, no?

In driving I-5, we found the views to be beautiful. There wasn’t an ocean, granted, but the mountain views (along with the interesting weather of rain/snow above those mountains) kept things interesting. The route itself had no issues. Safe and scenic. This is a “trust your gut” moment. There are people who are willing to risk your rig for what they feel is a greater reward. And yes, sometimes they’re right. And perhaps if we were retired, had an infinite amount of time, could take 12 hours to go the length of what a regular two hour drive would take us, maybe. But we have pets to consider, and a expensive rig to not ruin, and places to reach eventually, so while we’d love to throw caution to the wind, it will be for another day.

“No view” sometimes has a view

Ominous weather…luckily viewing from afar.

One thing that has become our mantra has been “trust your gut”. Trust your gut with the drive. If you hear conflict with something about your rig (whether it be the safety of the drive, the navigation, things to do), trust your gut. No one would knowingly (hopefully) put you in harm’s way but they are thinking about it from their perspective. Only you know your own perspective, your rig and your comfortability with what lays ahead.

For the record, we seem to be mountain/water/grass/hills/cool weather people. Luckily there’s a lot of those on the road!

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